Ah, one of my guilty pleasure names. SaintBede, called the Venerable Bede, was an 8th-century historian, scholar and Doctor of the Church. His writings gave him the title " The Father of English History". I remember visiting his tomb in the gorgeous Durham Cathedral in England and I was very moved. Bede is a rare and bold choice but I have to say I love it. And it's a family name for you! Divine!

I really like Bede, for the reasons mischa mentioned (there's now a surfer by the name, too, to counter its medieval image). However I keep debating whether or not everyone would simply hear 'bead' and be confused as to why I would name a child after a small, shiny choking hazard.

I have met an adult Bede in his 50s who seemed fine with his name and I think it is fabulous, unusual but strong and with such a rich history.

My only word of warning is that my 25yo colleague kept pronouncing this gentleman's name 'beady' from reading it in correspondence before she met him as she wasn't familiar with the venerable Bede (or anything that wasn't on X Factor for that matter). Still, it is pretty rare to find any but the most basic name that is pronunciation proof and people do learn how to pronounce unusual or foreign names as my Irish family of confusingly named expats proves.